The Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS) has appealed to the Federal Government and relevant tertiary education regulators to reconsider the recent policy removing Mathematics as a compulsory admission requirement for students seeking entry into Nigerian universities and other higher institutions to study courses in the Arts and Humanities.
Addressing Journalists at the NUJ House Makurdi, the President of the Society, Prof. Godwin Mbah, said the Council and entire membership of the NMS received the development with deep concern, warning that the decision could have serious implications for the nation’s educational standards, cognitive development, and long-term national growth.
Prof. Mbah emphasized that Mathematics remains a universal language of reasoning and a foundational tool for intellectual development across all disciplines.
According to him, Mathematics enhances analytical reasoning, precision, critical thinking, creativity, and structured problem-solving skills which are also vital in the Arts and Humanities.
He maintained that subjects such as Economics, Geography, Linguistics, and Philosophy draw heavily on quantitative and logical principles.
Prof. Mbah warned that excluding Mathematics from admission requirements could influence negative behavioural patterns among students from Junior Secondary School through Senior Secondary School.
He listed possible outcomes to include loss of interest in the subject, increased fear and avoidance of numeracy, poor performance in national examinations, disrespect for Mathematics teachers, and early neglect of the subject.
He cautioned that such attitudes could weaken students’ analytical abilities, reduce cognitive development, and distort the purpose of foundational education.
The Society also highlighted wider national implications, including reduced employability of graduates in an increasingly technology-driven economy, lowered academic standards in higher institutions, policy inconsistencies in the education sector, and the risk of widening social inequality between quantitatively literate and illiterate citizens.
Prof. Mbah described the policy as potentially detrimental to the nation’s aspirations for economic growth, innovation, and data-driven governance, arguing that mathematics literacy is essential for competitiveness in the 21st century.
“Excluding Mathematics as a compulsory admission requirement may appear student-friendly, but it undermines intellectual and professional competence. Mathematics equips learners with universal skills indispensable in today’s complex world,” he said.
He urged policymakers to retain Mathematics as a compulsory requirement for all university applicants regardless of discipline, insisting that “maintaining such standards is critical to sustaining national development and educational integrity.”
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